Archive for April 6th, 2013

I remember hearing an odd sound in the wind at certain points in Tomb Raider, as if the wind was blowing over broken glass pipes, as if someone was running a wetted finger along the rim of a wineglass. It sounded almost like stringed instruments playing a single keening note, but very faintly. It was off somehow, unresolved, eerie. It didn’t belong. It might have even been a music cue. So much of Tomb Raider’s music is subtle.

And what I most remember about that sound is that I’d heard it before. It was from some other movie or game. Where did I hear that? I couldn’t figure it out. Until today.

Microsoft officially responded to questions about a series of posts that Adam Orth, a Creative Director at Microsoft Studios, made on Twitter regarding the rumored always online requirement of the next Xbox console.

“We apologize for the inappropriate comments made by an employee on Twitter yesterday. This person is not a spokesperson for Microsoft, and his personal views do not reflect the customer centric approach we take to our products or how we would communicate directly with our loyal consumers. We are very sorry if this offended anyone, however we have not made any announcements about our product roadmap, and have no further comment on this matter.”

Orth had stated on Twitter that his exchange was part of regular informal lunchtime banter with Manveer Heir, a Senior Gameplay Designer at BioWare, but that didn’t stop gamers from using the posts as proof that Microsoft would require an internet connection to play games on the next console. The conversation included the following:

Adam Orth: Sorry, I don’t get the drama around having an “always on” console. Every device now is “always on”. That’s the world we live in.

Manveer Heir: Did you learn nothing from Diablo III or SimCity? You know some people’s internet goes out right? Deal with it is a shitty reason.